It has been a long road for the Wii Vitality Sensor that Nintendo announced way back in 2009 at E3. The Vitality Sensor came on the heels of the Wii Fit craze, and the strange concept of monitoring pulse of humans and integrating it into a video game just never worked as expected, despite significant development and cost.

According to reports, the Vitality Sensor only worked reliably on 9 out of 10 people in testing, which of course isn’t the kind of track record you want when taking a product to market. Despite canceling it for the time being, Nintendo still claims that there is value in the product; but as a commercial product it isn’t ready for prime time just yet.

While we expect Nintendo to give up on the Vitality Sensor as first announced, we suspect that the company will continue to investigate the possible applications for the technology and what it could be used for going forward. We also suspect that Nintendo has patented the heck out of the technology and its use with video games, so that is going to limit what could be done, since Nintendo is holding the rights.

Analysts that we have spoken with over the past few days believe that at E3 Microsoft and Sony will both confirm that price cuts on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are coming in time for the holiday season. It stands to reason that they will slash the price on the current generation of consoles for this holiday season to move inventory and pave the way forward for its new next generation consoles. The price cut could be as much as $50; but the information may only be confirmed behind closed doors to retail partners so that they can order and plan for this holiday season.

The big question mark when talking price cuts is the Wii U. If a system could ever use a price cut to get inventory moving it is the Wii U. Nintendo is still talking tough at this point, saying that it has no plans to slash the price of the system, but the numbers don’t lie; it is expected that Nintendo will have no choice but to cut the price of the Wii U by $50.

Still, even if Nintendo does reduce the price of the Wii U by $50, it is still a hard sell these days with the lack of software for the unit. While the company has a number of titles coming, these titles could not get here fast enough; it is not a slam dunk, as these titles may only provide a slight spark to sales of the unit while many weigh their options of purchasing the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 instead this holiday season.

Sources that we have spoken with from several studios have indicated that their publishing partners are pulling back a bit for the time being on the development of additional Wii U titles. The reason is simply the lack of sales on the Wii U console.

Despite coming out of the blocks fast, sales have not been that strong; and both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 had sales numbers in January that topped the Wii U. This, of course, has not gone unnoticed by publishers and developers alike.

As one source told us, “While planning for the platforms that our next titles would be released on, it was obvious that our titles for this year and at least the first half of next year would be primarily focused on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with several titles for the next-generation systems. Talk of Wii U ports for any these projects was met with a negative reaction, saying there just was not enough sales to warrant the development cost associated with it.”

Another source said to us, “We are only planning the couple of Wii U releases that we are already committed to doing and we might do one or two ports, but right now there just does not seem to be a demand. Our thinking is that the safe bet is to focus on the 2013 releases for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and a couple of those will be converted to the new next-gen systems. In 2014, however, we expect our titles that come out after mid-year to be focused on the next-gen consoles, with only a few those being released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well, unless sales of the next-gen consoles don’t go well. The Wii U would have to make very significant gains to figure into our 2014 and 2015 planning at this point.”

Nintendo needs something to happen to help get the Wii U flying off the shelf again; but many are now waiting to see what the Next-Generation Microsoft and Sony systems are going to offer and at what price before trying to choose which one to buy or if they will ride it out. If cost is the main factor, we could see a lot of gamers waiting, as long as they continue to get ample software flowing to their current systems, which is no real help to sales of the Wii U.

The Wii Mini is about as stripped down as it is possible to get the Wii. While no one is denying the affordability of the $99 price tag, some are questioning the lack of online capabilities as well as the dumping of GameCube compatibility as two things that should not have been stripped out of the final Wii Mini.

Nintendo suggests that the Wii Mini is for someone who is not looking for an online experience, and perhaps is a late adopter and does not have any interest in GameCube titles. While Nintendo sees it as a system that has the ability to play over 1,400 titles that don’t require online play, you have to understand their thinking when many used Wii games are so low priced.

What the Wii Mini also does is test a new configuration of the Wii that Nintendo can evaluate before bringing it to other regions. According to Nintendo, the Wii Mini achieved the majority of its cost savings by stripping out the online functionality. Do buyers considering a Wii Mini really care that it does not have online functionality? One example Nintendo gives is Canadians who want a second Wii for the cottage and they don’t have Internet at the cottage, anyway, so it is a perfect fit. It could also be a good fit for other countries in the future that also don’t necessarily have Internet. It is an experiment that we, along with Nintendo, will be watching.

The process of getting your data over to the Wii U from your Wii is a bit complex. The process does require your old Wii console, and you have to download the Wii to Wii U transfer application. You will also need an SD card with at least 512MB free, but we recommend more.

The process requires that you insert the card into the Wii U first and select the system transfer option, and then the card is moved to the Wii where you have to then download the transfer application from the Wii Shop. The Application moves the data to the SD card; and then once completed, you place the card into the Wii U and the data is moved to the new Wii U console.

For it to work, both the Wii and Wii U need to be connected to the Internet, and that is so you can download the application the verification can take place. The data that can be moved includes WiiWare, Virtual Console titles, save data for games, DLC content, Wii Points, and, of course, your Miis.

Once the transfer is completed, all of the data is wiped on the Wii console and the SD card is erased, so you have to hope you get it right. Seems like a lot of hassle, but if you are going to move to the new console, this is the only way that you are going to get there if you want to take your data with you.

Although Nintendo’s 1H 2012 earnings report isn’t quite what we’ve come to expect from Nintendo, the signs are still positive enough, seeing as how the company cut its operating loss in half in a single year.

Nintendo hasn’t had the best of times with Wii and DS sales, quite expectedly as they’re nearing end of their life-cycle, but the company still managed to improve results. The company lost about $366 million from April to September, which, although obviously not great, is still a significant improvement over the loss of $718 million in the same period last year.

3DS initially suffered a slow start but now turned out to be a lifesaver as its sales were up 64.8 percent. This means sales totaled at 5.06 million units, 2.1 million of which are XL models.

The DS sold 970,000 units while the aged Wii managed 1.32 million. This makes for 62.4 and 60.6 percent drops, respectively, but such results were to be expected, especially in the latter case, what with the Wii U just around the corner.

With the launch of the Wii U, Nintendo expects sales of 5.5 million in 2H of the fiscal year. This may very well be the break the company was hoping for, but we’ll see soon enough whether they can keep up the momentum.

While we have been told that the Wii U from Nintendo will support in-game voice chat, what we didn’t know is that there are a few gotchas. The biggest news surrounding voice chat on the Wii U is that it is not universal, and only “selected games” will office voice chat support.

Now what “selected games” means is anyone’s guess, but we can tell you that games with significant multiplayer online will likely offer voice chat; and if the game is also available on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, then it will offer voice chat support.

As of right now, Nintendo does not offer a Nintendo factory branded headset. Only third party companies are offering compatible headsets, which means that you are going to have to pick one up that is manufactured by Mad Catz or Turtle Beach. No headsets are wireless yet, and you can’t plug them into the Wii U Pro Controller. What this means is you have to plug the wired headset into the Wii U Game Pad controller, even if you are playing the game with the Pro Controller. The Wii U offers no headset port to plug the headset into, but this is a possibility of something that might get added later; and Nintendo may even opt to offer a wireless headset at some point in the future, but not today.

By the way, the default mic on the Game Pad will not work as an input for voice game chat by default. It is on a title by title basis as to what games even get voice chat support. Right now, the only way to connect a mic is by using the mic port on the Game Pad. It’s hard to say what the future may hold for voice chat in the platform.

With the launch of the Wii U approaching ever nearer, Nintendo will be slashing the price of the original Wii for the holiday season from $150 to $130. The move isn’t unexpected; but apparently it will only apply to a new Wii bundle that will start arriving at retailers now (but should be in wide release by no later than October 28th).

Nintendo has put a new Wii package together for this $130 price, which will include a black Wii console, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk, and Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort on one disc. The fact that Nintendo is putting Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort on one disc in this bundle is interesting.

It looks like Microsoft will combat the Wii and Wii U this holiday season with a number of holiday bundle options for the Xbox 360. Sony, with the PlayStation 3, will opt to sell the new SuperSlim in two bundles (priced at $270 and $300) that include large hard drives as well as bundled games. At this point, it would seem that Sony is not planning to make cuts on their hardware this holiday season, but Microsoft has slashed $50 from the price of its holiday bundles in North America.

A recent pilot study by Aussie researchers revealed that pre-school kids who play interactive video games have superior motor skills when compared to their non-playing friends.

Conducted by Deakin University and the University of Wollongong, the study involved 53 pre-schoolers aged from 3 to 6, of which more than half were girls. It aimed to find a link between basic movement skills and playing interactive games.

The study revealed that the children who played interactive games had superior object control skills, i.e. in kicking, catching, rolling and throwing balls. The study found no link of that kind of gaming affecting locomotor skills, such as hopping, jumping and running.

Lead researcher Dr. Lisa Barnett was reluctant to jump to conclusions though and said that we cannot be certain why this is so. She conceded that while children may have developed these skills in games, it is also possible that children with superior motor skills are simply drawn to such games more than their non-playing friends.

Some would say that practicing has been a successful method for making children and adults better at what they are doing, but we understand Dr. Barnett's wish to refrain from rash conclusions.

It appears like Nintendo's horses turned back into mice and its coach into pumpkins as the company can't seem to catch a break these days. Namely, Nintendo has reported a 10 percent year-on-year drop in revenue and yet another loss, but the real dangers actually lie ahead.

Nintendo generated around $1.08 billion in revenue from April to June 30, 2012, which is 9.7 percent less than in Q2 2011. The company's net loss ended up at about $220 million, although it can be considered progress when compared to the $328 million loss in Q2 2011.

Nintendo's sales seem to be sinking fast as well and the company has managed to sell 710,000 Wii consoles in Q2 2012. This accounts to less than half of what the company managed to sell in Q2 2011. 3DS sales fared better though and the company sold 1.34 million units.

Apparently, the company is looking for a quick fix with 3DS' bigger brother - the 3DS XL. As the name suggests, it will come with a bigger screen. Unfortunately, mobile gaming has been seriously moving away from dedicated portable gaming devices, so we'll see whether that goes as the company hopes.

The Wii U should come in time to save Nintendo's behind, but the company better start planning ahead. Unless that happens, Microsoft's and Sony's next gen consoles may just be the nails in the company's coffin.